How to Train a Fiery Death Machine: A Reimagining
by MBScavenger1498
Summary: The story of How to Train Your Dragon is a good one, and the world is full of potential. This is how I imagine it if age restriction were thrown out the window. A more realistic, dark and magic-filled take on HTTYD. Warning: Contains OC's, because honestly, those can't be the only kids in the entire village. T for now.
1. The Attack

**TOO MANY IDEAS! AAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHH!… Well, now that that's over, let me be clear: I have nothing against the plot, characters, or feel of How to Train your Dragon and it's spin-offs. It's a thoroughly enjoyable story. I just think there's a lot of extra depth and complexity that the movies and show can't really go into because of the gearing toward kids. This is my idea of what it might be like with a more adult tone and maybe a little magic mixed in. Have fun! **

**Notes:**

"Speaking"

'Quote'

'_Thinking'_

_Emphasis_

**Heading**

**Chapter 1**

**The Attack**

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III had always been a light sleeper. Most Vikings are, especially those who live on the island of Berk. Living in a village routinely attacked by dragons and humans alike will do that to you. Hiccup, however, was especially light in his sleep because he, unlike most Vikings, had quite a bit to prove.

It was this restlessness that awoke him one dark, freezing night in the middle of what passes for summer in the Ox-Helm Islands. The screams of terrified villagers were already piercing the night. There was only one thing that elicited that sort of sound from Vikings: a surprise dragon attack.

Hiccup shot out of bed, grabbed his rigging knife from his bedside table, and pulled on his boots as he ran for the stairs, his face set in determination. "This time. I'll do it this time." His determined whisper was met with an empty room. The door was already ajar; his father had left.

Hiccup ran straight through the open doorway, making a beeline for the burning village below. Other Vikings: huge warriors with battleaxes and war-hammers were already running down the hill, firelight glinting off their steel weapons. Battle cries and screams of terror mingled with the roars of Monstrous Nightmares and the hisses of Zipplebacks. Hiccup couldn't help but gulp. No matter how many times he had charged toward those sounds, it still took a conscious effort to keep his legs pumping. He groaned and shook the thoughts free from his mind. _'Come on. You'll never kill one if your this afraid.'_

Finally reaching the base of the hill, he sprinted between buildings, burning, smashed or otherwise. He yelled a bit when a dragon; one of the smaller species, jumped on his shoulder and set his jacket on fire. He had just enough time to throw both his jacket and the dragon into a stone statue, pulling out his rigging knife in case anything similar happened. He was perfectly capable of fending off the small dragons, but he'd have to avoid the biggest ones. A small or medium-sized species was probably the best he could hope to kill, and that was if he managed to get a real weapon. Having had to defend himself from those smallest, nameless dragons as he went, Hiccup was panting by the time he reached the forge.

Gobber grinned in that strange, sort of annoyed way he did when Hiccup's inadequacy was showing itself worst. The boy couldn't blame the hulking blacksmith; his clothes were badly singed and ripped in several places. "Good, your finally here! These swords need to be hammered back out; I'm going to pass out some more weapons!" Hiccup stared at the pile of bent and burned blades and almost groaned.

"Gobber, come on! You're a better smith than me and I'm just as capable of handing those out. I've got to get in the action some time." The man shook his head. "Hiccup, we've been over this, you're no good at fighting and if anything happened to you, your dad would kill me. Now, stay here and get those swords fixed." The large, hook-handed man ran as best he could out the door (which was remarkably well, considering his peg-leg) and started yelling for people to get armed. Hiccup resignedly set to working at the bent metal, half wishing he could be out with the others and half knowing he'd probably be nothing but a burden. Two swords and a severe case of boredom later, he heard an especially loud yell before a house nearby exploded with a distinctive, otherworldly ***PTWOO*** sound.

"NIGHT FURY!" the call rang across the town and spread, the terror in the air was almost palpable as flashes of blue and orange light exploded everywhere! Hiccup's eyes widened, then he thought for a moment. He'd been waiting for a chance to prove himself. Night Furies were attacking and he had the firepower to bring them down. He turned to the corner and smiled shakily at the self-made bola launcher there. This plan was crazy. Most of his were, but this was just demented. He didn't care. Wordlessly, he grabbed the rolling contraption and ran it out the door, pushing it ahead of himself like a wheelbarrow.

He went around most of the big fights, trying to stay focused on his target. He could just barely pick them out, patches of black flitting across the sky at ridiculous speeds. If he had been thinking, he might have become doubtful of himself. But he wasn't thinking. It was a skill that had gotten him in trouble countless times before. Tonight, it was his strength. A few people stopped to ask what he was doing. Hiccup didn't stop, not even to return Snotlout's loud insinuations as to the validity of his manhood. His focus was complete.

Finally, he came to the outskirts of the village: a sheer cliff overlooking the better part of the huge pine forests of the island. He searched the skies until he found one, his eyes barely following it as it darted across the inky black sky. He set up his launcher and aimed carefully. He had to be patient. He'd never be able to keep up with the thing, so he had to let it come to him…

"GOTCHA!" He pulled the trigger of his weapon, launching the weighted ropes into the sky. There was a barely audible howl as he watched the beast fall to the ground, unable to fly amidst the tangle of rope. Hiccup was practically stunned into silence… for a moment, anyway. Then he was jumping for joy, whooping and completely unaware of his surroundings.

It was in that moment of pure joy that he felt a sudden sharp pain rake across his back. He fell to the ground, yelling incoherently! He could feel blood oozing out onto his back and down his ribs. He could barely bring himself to turn around and face his attacker. He would have groaned if he hadn't been frozen solid from fear and blood-loss. A Monstrous Nightmare, one of the most feared dragons known to Vikings, was creeping toward him, it's eyes filled with what looked distinctly like anger as it swiped at his launcher, knocking it off the cliff. Hiccup could have sworn that he saw a bit of worry, but dismissed the preposterous idea.

It was just his luck. He thought about trying to run, before remembering that his blood-slicked back was to a cliff. Trying to go sideways was also out; he had no chance of outrunning the dragon's claws. He was truly and utterly fucked.

He was resigning himself to a painful and utterly stupid death when a rock the size of a large watermelon collided with the Nightmare's head. It screeched and reeled; unable to keep it's balance. One of its horns had broken off. A man the size of a small bear jumped onto it and wrestled it to the ground, smashing a large, iron war-hammer into it's ribcage to finish the job. Wordlessly, Stoic the Vast, chieftain of the village of Resin on the island of Berk, kicked the enormous carcass off of the cliff before turning to Hiccup. The boy almost sighed. He knew he was about to be killed, but at least it was in the metaphorical sense.

"Hiccup, just what in the darkest pits of Hel do you think you're doing?" The boy would have had a witty comeback, but his body's adrenaline rush had finally petered out. All he could manage was a contorted, self-satisfied smirk and a muttered "Hey dad," before he passed out.


	2. Healing Touch

**TWO CHAPTERS IN AS MANY DAYS! IT MUST BE A NEW RECORD! Have fun.**

**Chapter 2**

**Healing Touch**

Hiccup couldn't quite get a handle on consciousness. His mind was almost blank; the world behind his eyelids was dim as he struggled to open them. A strange feeling of contentment settled over him. He was warm and comfortable, if a bit stiff. And he really had to go to the bathroom. _'Great, there goes the contentment.'_

He could hear voices too. They were whispering kind of resignedly, as though some inevitable outcome was bothering them. He counted two, no, three voices. His dad… And in a rush, it came back to him: the Monstrous Nightmare slashing his back, the terror of certain death. He sprung up in bed, desperately trying to get a look at his back. He could see bandages wrapped around his torso and there was a barely audible cracking sound as he tried to turn. He winced as he felt scabs breaking open beneath the cloth barrier.

Then people were rushing to his side, pushing him down. He heard a familiar, sarcastic yet soothing voice as he slowly lied back down. "Calm down, you idiot. You're safe. If you keep freaking out, you'll bleed out and ruin the sheets." Hiccup frowned, but nodded. His dad's hulking figure walked over, his expression was a strange mixture of pride, exasperation and worry.

"Hiccup, what were yeh thinkin', attacking a Monstrous Nightmare on yer own! Even I didn't do that until I'd finished Training." Hiccup turned a questioning look on his father. _'He thinks I **attacked **that thing? On my own?' _His father's face was a jumble, but pride was definitely there. "Seriously! I'll give you credit for raw courage, but that was just dumb." Hiccup turned his gaze to the sarcastic medic.

"Hello to you too, Bellur. Your bedside manner is as terrible as usual." The tall healer's apprentice shrugged and ginned at Hiccup. Bellur was two years older than him; he had graduated Combat Training near the bottom and had decided that fighting wasn't really his thing. He and Hiccup had bonded over their mutual lack of ability after an unmentionable incident involving several eels, a flaming chicken and the Thorston Twins.

The healer, Madile, had walked away to gather some herbs and was almost done making them into a salve. Hiccup glanced around at the group and asked the first question that came to mind: "How long was I out?" Madile walked back over and started undoing his bandages. "About a day and a half. Honestly, it's a wonder you're alive at all; you took two Nightmare claws right across your back. I've seen full grown men die from less." Hiccup stared at the window and wondered. By all rights, he should have been dead. Why wasn't he?

"Well, the important thing is that yer alive and yah seem to 'ave got away with a few cracked ribs an' some scars." Hiccup smiled a bit at his dad. Sometimes, it was easy to forget that Stoick was his father and not some eternally disappointed third cousin or something. Moments of genuine concern and pride from him were rare and cherished memories for Hiccup. He yelped a bit as Madile started applying the paste to his wounds. It was cold and every touch stung like thorns.

He gritted his teeth. _'I'm 15, almost 16, practically a man. I won't let some cold salve turn me into a whimpering toddler.'_ Madile continued to apply the salve and the group sat in silence for several minutes. After a while, she finished and started wrapping him in fresh bandages. Hiccup sighed a bit; the thorns had finally dulled to throbbing. He turned to Bellur, deciding which questions to ask first. "So… how much did we lose?"

Stoick frowned and let out a resigned sigh. "Most of our sheep got nicked, but the oxen were mostly left behind. They took a lot of food from personal stores, but they didn't get to the caves. We should be able to make it through winter if we move our hunting and fishing schedules up. Meanwhile, I'll be taking one more expedition out to look for the Dragon's nest, before the ice sets in." He turned an appraising eye on Hiccup. "And I've decided to get you started in Combat Training. If you're determined to fight dragons, you might as well know what your doing."

Hiccup's eyes widened. This was beyond unexpected. Something he had hoped for, but never been optimistic enough to expect. "You… you mean it?" Stoick nodded. "Aye, there's no way I'm letting you go into battle unprepared, not after this mess." Someone who didn't know Stoick might have misconstrued the comment as an underhanded jab, but Hiccup knew better. He was doing this because he had screwed up, and Stoick wasn't about to put him in that helpless situation again if he could help it. It was the full extent of his normal affection output and Hiccup had learned to appreciate it for what it was: a gesture of trust.

Unsure of what to say to the unforeseen development, Hiccup moved to the next logical question. "When should I be back on my feet?" Madile smiled tiredly at the boy, as though to say she'd known he was going to say that. "Well, with plenty of bed rest and a healthy appetite, you should be in good working order in a week or two. You probably shouldn't strain yourself in the mean time. Like I said, it's a miracle you're alive."

Beler grinned down at Hiccup. "Madile just wants you out of here. She says teenage boys stink up the place." Madile glared reproachfully, but didn't comment one way or the other. Hiccup said nothing. He'd just remembered the most important event of the night before and for some reason, it filled him with dread and apprehension. There was still a Night Fury in the woods.

Nighttime. The village was dark, except for the light of hearths, slowly fading as their tenders fell asleep. The night was silent except for nature's usual noise: bugs and birds. Hiccup grimaced. This was going to be painful, and might not even accomplish anything. All the same, he had to know.

He slowly slipped out of bed, grabbed an extra pair of boots and a coat. Thank Odin, they'd left his pants on, or he'd have been running around in his underwear. And wondering who had to take them off. _'It's awkward either way, really.' _

He rooted around in the smithy as quietly as he could, looking for a short sword to go with his knife. He didn't care if the thing was tied up; he wasn't getting himself any worse hurt than he already was. His scars were probably going to take another few days to heal just because of this nighttime excursion.

He took another minute to find something before giving up and just grabbing a random sword and an unlit torch (which he promptly lit in the failing embers of the hearth). He didn't have time to be finicky.

Silent as he could be carrying a sword that, despite its small size, still felt monstrous to his scrawny muscles, Hiccup began his trek into the woods. He knew them well and was confident he could make it back soon. What he hadn't though to account for was the size of the dragon he was hunting.

Given its reputation, he'd been half expecting a giant smoking crater and some monstrous beast, bigger maybe than a Monstrous Nightmare. Instead, even with some idea of where to look, he had yet to find a single clue after a good hour of searching. No broken branches, no skid marks, no signs of struggle, or recently charred wood. What was worse, he had to look out for any other dragons that might have settled in the woods: a rare, but not unknown occurrence.

He wandered for a while more, searching fruitlessly until he sat down on a log, frustrated and thinking about walking back, maybe just forgetting the whole thing. Once he passed Combat Training, he could just find another dragon to kill.

That was when he saw it. On the other side of the clearing, a recently broken tree, snapped clean in half by some enormous impact. A deep, long depression in the Earth led to the edge of a small drop off. Hiccup grinned, for the moment forgetting his screaming injuries and aching feet. He rushed to the cliff's edge, peering cautiously down, unsure of how to proceed.

He remembered the sheltered little cove from his childhood. He and Snotlout had played there as kids until a snake had bitten an older boy. There were plenty of places to hide down there. He quickly dismissed the developing image of monstrous beasts ambushing him; the thing was either disabled by ropes, or long gone. Either way, he had to know for sure.

Momentarily throwing caution to the wind, Hiccup drew his sword and ran toward the small entrance: a large crack in the rocks at the base of a large, ramp-like depression in the ground. The opening was just big enough that he could duck through, drawing a sharp breath as his scabs were forced to stretch.

After a few seconds of picking his way through rocks, he came to the edge of the small pond at the depression's center. He wordlessly held up his fading torch, looking around the small area for any sign of his prize. Half a turn later, he was rewarded.

The thing was almost small by conventional dragon standards: not nearly as bulky as a Gronkle, but also much longer. Its entire body was a strange shade of bluish-black that seemed to dance in the firelight. Its head was about the size of Hiccup's chest, with strange organs protruding over its neck. Its sleek, long tail and wings might have made it look graceful, if it hadn't been tangled all to hell in Bola rope and near starved-looking.

Hiccup swallowed a bit. This was it. His sword slid out of its sheath with a whispering metal hiss. His focus was completely on the Night Fury, the answer to all his problems. If he killed this dragon, cut off it's head and presented it to his father, he'd become a hero. He'd have fame, glory, everything he'd ever wanted. He focused to the head, intent on his target…

A single, Emerald-yellow eye gazed back at him. Hiccup was prepared to see rage. He was prepared to see hatred. What he wasn't ready for, was fear. The sort of plaintive, powerless expression Hiccup had never once considered a dragon capable of. He held the thing's gaze for what felt like an hour, poised to strike, unsure of why he was hesitating.

There was no thought to what he did next.

Wordlessly, Hiccup sheathed his sword. He drew his rigging knife from his belt and slowly, knelt down, concentrating on sending helpful, friendly vibes and very pointedly not thinking about the utter stupidity of what he was about to do.

After what felt like an eternity, his knee met the ground. He reached forward and glided his hand over the scaly dark skin of the Night Fury. The thing's heartbeat was racing, though the look in its eyes was one of final resignation. This dragon had given up.

You can imagine its surprise when the human's descending knife ignored its flesh completely and began to saw at the ropes binding it. Its eyes widened. What was this skinny man-boy doing? Was it insane?

The sound of ropes snapping seamed louder than thunder in the still, quiet night. Hiccup could feel the racing pace of the thing's heartbeat. It was either terrified, or really excited about something. After several minutes of cutting ropes, the dark dragon was just about free. It took a second to stand, testing its legs before it pounced.

Hiccup felt the air leave his lungs as his injured back made heavy contact with the sandy ground. He stared, slightly open-mouthed up at the Night Fury. Regardless of how it might seem next to a Monstrous Nightmare, it was plenty big from this perspective, big enough to take his head off with a single clean bite. It roared in his face. Hiccup looked at the mouth of his assailant, unsure what to do with what he saw.

"Toothless?" The dragon must have heard his incredulity, because the second roar came with the extending of retractable fangs. The almost-man almost wet himself. Suddenly, with as much warning as when it had jumped on him, the dragon ran to the wall. It scraped at the stones and tried to climb out, but fell back about half way up; it's wings working ineffectually while its tail swung wild.

Hiccup slowly stood up, and took in the spectacle. The pain in his back was almost unbearable. That tackle had been a bit too much for his wounds. He could feel the blood oozing into his now-soaked bandages. The dragon tried numerous times to get out before walking back to the pond and lying down, emitting a high moaning sound. Hiccup had never seen anything so sad.

"Hey, what's wrong, big guy? Why can't you fly?" Hiccup staggered toward the dragon and got a warning growl in response. He stopped several feet away and thought for a second.

_'I've got to be as non-threatening as possible.'_ He slowly undid the buckle of his sword-belt and placed it on the ground, taking care to remain in the Night Fury's field of vision. His knife had skidded to the other side of the cove after the thing had tackled him. Slowly, holding his hands out and making cooing noises as he went, Hiccup approached the dragon.

"Nice dragon. Nice fiery death machine. It's okay; I'm not gonna hurt ya." Surprisingly, it seemed to work. The dragon's glare remained suspicious, but Hiccup finally made it within touching distance.

Upon close inspection, the toothless dragon had gotten away almost unscathed. There were a few scratches, but they were already healing. The thing that really caught Hiccup's eye was the tail, curled up near the thing's heat-emitting body. He remembered the silhouettes having two fins on the end of their tails. This dragon was lacking it's left one.

Slowly, tentatively, Hiccup knelt down and moved to touch the wound. The dragon was strangely calm, if a bit twitchy. He ran his fingers around the outside; the stubby remains of spines were all that was left of the fin. He touched one.

A slight sharp pain hit his palm and he felt a strange burning sensation, like a particularly bad bee sting. The dragon's eyes widened, as though it had felt the pain too. Hiccup held up the hand, staring at it. There was a slight grayish discoloration there, like a spontaneous birthmark. Then the burning hit his wounds.

Hiccup, for lack of a better word, shrieked. It was like no pain he had experienced before. The wounds felt like they were being knit back together by a five-year-old using sharpened boulders for needles. He couldn't take it and after a few seconds, he blacked out.


	3. Omens

**Good god, it's another one! Also, special shout-out to EquinoxKnight01 for being my first regular reviewer! Your feedback is appreciated! **

**Chapter 3**

**Omens**

When Hiccup woke up, he had a pounding headache. He didn't want to wake up. His dream had been so good…

Remembering the contents of said dream was enough to really, truly wake him up. Quickly, he sat up (banishing all dirty thoughts from his mind as he went) to regard his surroundings. It took him a second to remember where he was.

Finally recalling his location, he stood and stretched, doing his best not to yawn. Information was returning at a slower pace than the last time he'd blacked out, but he distinctly remembered that he was in the very direct vicinity of a very grumpy dragon.

_'Well, got to get going.'_ Hiccup started searching around for his sword and knife. It would be annoying to have to explain their absence, and he liked his rigging knife. He'd forged it himself on one of the few days Gobber had no work to push off on him.

The sword was easy enough to find. It was still on the sand were he'd placed it. The knife wasn't nearly as easy to find, though. Hiccup's torch had long since fizzled out and without it's aid, he didn't see a plausible way to find the precious possession. _'I'll just have to come back for it and hope nobody notices I don't have it in the mean time.'_

He shoved the pondering to the back of his mind. There were more important things to focus on right now. If he wasn't back and in bed before daybreak, his father would have his head on a pole. He didn't even want to consider what he might do if he found out about the Night Fury. He felt a strange sense of cold pass over his heart at the thought.

Hiccup glanced up and grimaced. The moon was swiftly descending toward the horizon. He'd have to run back if he planned to get back before the village woke.

He looked back briefly before slipping through the opening. Without another word, he went up the ramp and sprinted towards home.

**Ap qA**

Hiccup barely made it back in time. Tiny flecks of violet daylight were just starting to peek over the horizon when he tucked himself in. Fortunately for him, the healer didn't need to wake early and her assistant was a teenager.

The run back had been uneventful and he had been lucky enough to get away from the previous night's encounter with just a few minor injuries; new ones anyway. His back ached like someone had mistaken it for an anvil. He flitted in and out of sleep for an hour before Madile showed up.

The village healer walked through the door and sent a brief "Good morning" to Hiccup. She walked over to the various jars and vases around the room, grabbing supplies and humming a jaunty tune to herself as she went.

Having grabbed her supplies, the healer sat down in a stool next to Hiccup's bed and smiled warmly. "So, how are you feeling?" Hiccup smiled back sleepily. "Much better, actually. What was in that salve?" Madile's smile widened. "You really don't want to know." Hiccup's smile dropped abruptly. He was suddenly very scared of the village healer.

The silence widened for a second before Madile broke it. "Well, get up. We've got to change those bandages." Hiccup did as he was told, wincing as he felt his spine crack. Lying down after so much activity had put a good amount of tension in it. The healer began to quickly unwind the blood-soaked cloth.

About halfway down his back, she stopped. Hiccup turned a questioning gaze on her. "What's wrong?" Madile's eyes were the size of dinner plates. She slowly looked up at her patient mouth hanging open. "They're gone."

Hiccup stared back at her, uncomprehending. "What do you mean they're gone?" Hiccup's mind was racing. Just the day before, he'd had two giant, barely scabbed gashes in his back. Humans didn't just heal that kind of thing overnight.

Hiccup tried to turn and look at his back before remembering that was impossible. _'Right, why do I keep thinking I can do that?'_ Slowly, tentatively, he reached back and touched the skin on either side of his spine. Two ridges of rough flesh greeted his probing hands. Quickly, he slipped out of bed and walked over to the large mirror propped up in the corner. He turned to regard his back, both anxious to know and scared of what he might see.

Madile had been right. The wounds were gone, replaced by two long blue-grey ridges. He could see Madile in the background of the reflection, staring at him in what might have been awe.

Wordlessly, she grabbed his shirt, jacket and boots, walked over and handed them to him.

"Here, this is beyond my knowledge. You need to see Gothi." Hiccup took the clothes with a nod and slipped them on before walking out the door, terrified of what might await him in the hut of the village elder.

In the time since his return, the village had come to life. Most people, being fishermen, herders or farmers, didn't have the luxury of sleeping late. He noticed several boats pushing off and a smaller group filtering off into the woods. He shivered a bit. They might find the Night Fury, though they really didn't have a reason to go out to Raven's Point. The place was named for the scavenging birds because so little else lived there.

After a few minute's walk, Hiccup reached the Elder's Hut. It stood at the highest point in the village, up the hill from his family's house. He was panting slightly by the end of the long climb. Usually, it wouldn't have been much of a problem, but his night had been sleepless and he'd skipped breakfast; his energy was near zero.

He knocked on the door and stood awkwardly, unsure of how to proceed. About a minute later, the door slowly creaked open. Hiccup lowered his gaze to meet that of the old woman in the doorway and frowned. Gothi was the oldest person in the village and thus given great respect. Most people didn't make it past their mid-thirties at the very latest, so Gothi, still walking at sixty-two, was practically a living legend.

Wordlessly, she waved him in and closed the door. Her hut was windowless and the fire was smoldering. Hiccup coughed slightly as the smell of herbs and old people filled his nostrils. Gothi sat on a small log stool next to the fire and motioned for him to sit in the one next to her. Hiccup obeyed, unsure of what she was going to do.

Gothi stared at Hiccup for what felt like an hour, but was more like a few seconds. After a small pause, she closed her eyes and began to draw lines in the sandy floor. The old woman moved her walking stick with practiced precision, weaving a larger picture out of seemingly random lines. Most of it was fairly abstract; to Hiccup it looked like waves, fire and a large eye. After a minute of this, Gothi opened her eyes and cast some chicken bones onto the drawing. She studied the results carefully, before her eyes widened. She turned a sharp gaze on Hiccup, reached out and grabbed his hand. He didn't even have time to struggle before she pried his fist open.

Gothi stared at the blue-gray mark on Hiccup's palm. He got the distinct impression that if she could, she would have gasped dramatically. Her eyes were wide as they moved to intercept his, filled with wonder and a certain amount of dread.

"Do you know what it means?" She narrowed her eyes a bit, but didn't make any attempt to elaborate. Hiccup let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding before awkwardly tapping the elder on her shoulder. "There's more."

Gothi once again turned her piercing gaze on him and motioned for him to continue. He shook his head. "It'll be easier to just show you."

Hiccup quickly removed his jacket and shirt, revealing his scrawny body and general lack of muscle. He turned his back to Gothi, displaying the long, grey scars to her.

"Last night, these were barely starting to heal." The small woman walked over and touched the scar tissue. Hiccup shivered slightly at the cold touch. After a minute of poking and prodding, Gothi walked around to his front and looked him directly in the eyes. She pointed to him, then made a clawing motion over her heart, a symbol for warding off evil. Hiccup had seen her do this countless times to tell people that there was great struggle ahead of them. It never ended well.

There was no doubt in the boy's mind that the meeting was over, so he quickly moved to cover his skinny torso. Gothi, sufficiently convinced that she had gotten her message across, went to pick up her bones and rubbed the pattern into oblivion. Finally, she turned a look on Hiccup that told him in no uncertain terms to get out. He was all too happy to oblige.

**So, sorry for the shortness and everything. I just didn't think there was a good place to go from here without cutting the chapter. I really nead to just sit back one day and plan ahead a while on all my fics. Thank's for reading and please leave a review,**

**Scavenger**


	4. Debts

**Wow, you people really seam to like this story! Chapter three already has three reviews! NOTE: this chapter is now rewritten. I finished the original version really late at night, so it came out sounding weird to me. Enjoy the improved version!**

**Chapter 4**

**Debts**

****_'Sun barely up, no breakfast in the Great Hall and I'm taking a giant basket of fish to a dragon. Great.'_Hiccup yawned and tightened his weak grip on the heavy container. Taking fish to the Night Fury had seemed like a good idea before, for building trust and whatnot. Now, though, with aching muscles and uncertain results ahead of him, it seemed like an incredibly dumb one. The main reason he hadn't tried to sneak back was that by the time he was awake enough for pessimism, he was already more than halfway to the cove. The fish smell wasn't helping his mood either, but after a good half hour with it under his nose, he'd become numb to it.

Finally, Hiccup spotted the smashed tree. With his destination in sight, he redoubled his pace, eager to set his burden down. He managed to get through the entrance with minimal squeezing and placed the basket on the ground before spotting the dragon on the far side of the large crater. Grumbling he picked it back up and started walking around the pond.

The dragon was staring at the wall of the cove, glaring as though it had done him a grievous wrong. Suddenly, the things on its head perked up and it turned to regard Hiccup before fixating on the basket. Cautiously, it padded closer, though it maintained a few feet of distance. It licked its lips and turned a questioning stare on him. The boy looked back into the creature's eyes for a second before remembering himself and tipping the basket over and backing away.

The Night Fury advanced and sniffed the fish suspiciously. Its first bite was tentative, but after making sure it wasn't poisonous, the creature quickly began wolfing the offering down.

In the meantime, Hiccup decided to resume the search for his rigging knife. He walked around the cove, eyes roaming the sand and rocks for any sign of the tool before his eyes found a flash of sunlight. He quickly moved to investigate and found that it was indeed his knife: lodged almost to the hilt in a tree.

_'Well, that's just fucking great.' _Hiccup sat down dejectedly and stared at the carved handle sticking out of the bark. He could tell just by looking that it was too far in for him to pull out and though he knew it was just a tool; it had been one of the few real constants in his life, something he knew he could always rely on. He was going to miss it.

A sudden prodding in his side brought Hiccup back to the real world with a start. The dragon was standing over him with a raw fish in its mouth. Upon acknowledgement, it dropped the fish on Hiccup's lap and blinked at him expectantly. He slowly picked up the fish, eliciting a coaxing sound from the dragon. Unsure of what to do, he held it up and offered it back. The dragon's look was almost condescending as it shook its head. _'A dragon is shaking it's head at me like I'm some sort of idiot. What the fuck am I getting into?'_

The dragon rolled its eyes and flashed its teeth. Hiccup stared. This thing was emoting as though it were a human being. And he was pretty sure it had just told him to eat a raw fish. He sighed._ 'Gross as it might be, I don't have much choice.' _Grimacing, he took a small bite. He managed to swallow, but decided that from now on all those who practiced the culinary arts were his heroes.

Doing his best not to gag, he reached up to pat the dragon on its head. Then it happened; for a moment, Hiccup was filled with a deep satisfaction that was definitely not his own. He pulled back with a start and looked up at the black dragon, whose eyes had gone wide. Hiccup had the strangest feeling that it must have felt the same thing.

Then, its gaze drifted to the knife. It looked back at Hiccup in puzzlement before walking over to the tree. It cocked its head, as though considering what it was abut to do, then leaned forward and bit down on the handle.

Hiccup watched, unsure of what was going on or whether he should try to stop it. He didn't have time to decide; after a few seconds of tugging, the dragon pulled back and spat out the knife. It looked expectantly at him and blinked, as though to say "Well, what now?"

Hiccup leaned forward and picked up the knife. Its handle now had several shallow bit marks in it and it was all but covered in slobber, but the blade didn't appear to be seriously damaged. The boy looked up at the dragon and was suddenly struck by how curious it looked.

"Thank you." The dragon dipped its head a bit and walked off to the other side of the cove, its damaged tail swishing lazily behind it.

**Ap qA**

Several hours later, Hiccup was sitting on a rock on the edge of the island, overlooking the sea. It was a thinking place he went to when he was confronted by a particularly tough problem. He figured that this counted.

He still hadn't gotten over the knife thing. He took the tool out for what felt like the hundredth time, examining the bite marks and wondering just what the Hel was going on. Dragons didn't just suddenly become able to read minds and they definitely didn't help humans, even if it was in reciprocation.

What's more, this one had had him at its mercy the other night and yet it hadn't killed him. At the time, Hiccup had put it down to eagerness to escape, but even when he'd passed out, the creature had refrained. _'No matter how many times I think it over, it doesn't make any godsdamn sense.'_

He sighed and put the knife away. The waves crashed against the cliff-side below, unyielding and violent. Clouds on the horizon signaled a storm on the way.

He was startled from his thoughts by the yell of an approaching Gobber. The blacksmith was wearing his mead cup; he must have just come from the Great Hall.

"I just heard about yer miraculous recovery!" Hiccup smirked a bit. Trust Gobber to turn something unnatural and weird into something to celebrate.

"I just wanted to tell ya that, seeing as how you're all better and ready for action, we're moving the training schedule up." Hiccup perked up a bit. "Really? When does it start?"

Gobber smiled at his apprentice. It wasn't natural for him to be frowning so much. "First lesson's tomorrow at dawn in the arena; basic man to man combat. I assume yeh're well enough to do it." Hiccup grinned. "Yeah, wouldn't miss it."

"Good. Well, I'll see yeh then. Ah've got some smithin' to do." He quickly turned and started walking back down the hill. "Wait, Gobber! Can I ask you something?"

The blacksmith turned back around and raised his eyebrow. "Sure. Shoot." Hiccup seemed to consider his words for a moment before nodding a bit.

"Have you ever seen a dragon outside of fighting them?" Gobber started a bit at the strange question. Well, yeah, it's my job to keep the ones in the arena looked after. Hiccup shook his head. "No, I mean in the wild. Maybe in the forest or something."

Gobber scratched his head and thought for a second. "Hmmm… No, ah don't think so. Every time I've seen a dragon, it's tried tah kill me or somethin' else." Hiccup's eyes narrowed, but he nodded thoughtfully.

"Okay, well… if someone had done something really big for you, but you weren't really friends, should you return the favor or…" Gobber couldn't find a connection between the questions, but decided it was probably just two different problems. He sighed and smiled tiredly to his protégé.

"Well, in my experience, it's always a bad idea to leave a debt unpaid. You should find a way teh repay the person regardless of yer relationship; leaving it alone almost always backfires, especially when it's an enemy you owe." Hiccup nodded again, before perking up and nodding.

"Thanks, Gobber. Oh, one more question. Is Bellur at the Hall?" Gobber nodded. "Yeah, he's on his lunch break. I'll see yeh tomorrow morning." Hiccup nodded; "Yeah, tomorrow."

Gobber shook his head and chuckled as Hiccup ran down the hill and off toward the Hall, remembering when he was that age._ 'He won't be so enthusiastic tomorrow.'_

**Ap qA**

Hiccup was happy, really truly happy for the first time since he'd shot the Night Fury down. He knew what he had to do; he couldn't do it alone, though.

The Great Hall was impressive even from the outside. All you could see was the entrance, but that was all you needed to. Two giant iron-studded, oaken doors set a good few feet into the giant cliff-side behind the village marked the location clearly. Enormous statues of Thor and Odin flanked them and the archway around them was decorated with intricate designs.

Today, those doors were wide open. The hall was filled with Vikings eating their afternoon meal, talking and fighting. The atmosphere was cheery in the cavernous main chamber, though it was clear the meal was winding down. People had work to get back to and most of the food was gone.

Hiccup paused in the doorway and surveyed the scene. He at least vaguely knew most of the people in the cavern, but one person really caught his eye.

_'Astrid.' _Hiccup couldn't help but stare every time he saw her. Much as he knew she had no better opinion of him than anyone else in Resin (probably worse, considering the bad blood between their families) she was one of the few things he couldn't help but feel hopeful about.

She must have felt his stare, because for a second, she locked eyes with him. Hiccup looked away from the hard glare as fast as he could and quickly found Bellur, trying and failing to look purposeful as he walked over to his friend.

The lanky boy was sitting at the end of a fringe table, mostly ignoring the conversation around him, and eating some stew. He looked up and waved at Hiccup as he walked over to the table.

"Hey, I've been looking for you!" Hiccup blinked uncomprehendingly. "You've been looking for me?" Bellur raised an eyebrow. "Yeah! You healed overnight from a wound that should have taken weeks to get better, then you just disappeared from the healer's hut! How the bleeding Hel am I _not_ gonna go looking for you after that?"

Hiccup acknowledged the logic with a tilt of his head, before returning to his original purpose. "Yeah, that was weird, but listen, I've got this… thing that I need your help with…"

Bellur swallowed a mouthful of stew and raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Okay, what is it?" Hiccup leaned in closer. "It's… well, it's sort of personal. I've got this thing out in the woods. Just meet me outside the arena after combat training tomorrow. I'll take you to see it." Bellur gave him a strange look, but didn't push for details. "Okay. So you're starting training tomorrow?" Hiccup nodded, and a smile spread across his face. "Yeah. I'm finally gonna learn to fight."

Bellur snorted a little. "Yeah, I'm sure you'll be a natural. It's not like you've been getting your ass kicked by Snotlout for the last five years." Hiccup's expression darkened at the derisive comment. Snotlout was also, as usual, an unwelcome subject. Bellur noticed the change and his tone softened.

"Hey, look, if I could make it through, then you can too. I'm just saying you shouldn't expect to walk in there and suddenly become Hiccup the Epic Badass." Hiccup nodded and pushed his face back into a smile, but the good feeling was long gone.

**GOOD GOD IT'S ANOTHER ONE! I'll be honest, I have no idea where all this is coming from, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?**

**In response to comments:**

**TerrorbyteTC: I'm glad you like it! Tell me what you think of this one.**

**TheDragon1326: Thank you, i'm glad it's at least a bit ****original: carbon copy fics annoy me too. The exact ending and sequence of events leading to it are still being finalized, though i will say that I plan to incorporate some themes and event from the show.**

**Thanks for reading,**

**Scavenger**


	5. Rivalry and New Records

**This chapter bothers me. I really had to force most of it out. I hope I'm not running out of steam, there's still so much to get to! Enjoy!**

**Note: Now revised. There were a few errors and I didn't like how some of it was flowing.**

**Chapter 5**

**Rivalry and New Records**

Stoick the Vast had once been scared of the sounds of battle. Whenever dragons had come to Berk, he'd cowered under his bed and whimpered for his mother. Thunderstorms had similarly terrified him, reducing him to a sniveling wreck. All that had changed when he killed the Monstrous Nightmare. No child in Berk's history had singlehandedly killed a large dragon, let alone one of the scourges. His father had nearly died in the attack and for the first time, Stoick had comprehended that Resin would be his responsibility one day. The village had needed him to step up and he'd done it.

Now, _he_ was Chieftain. He grunted as he finished off the Terrible Terror he'd been beating off, snapping its neck with a twist of his hand._ 'Curse this damn fog. How the Hel do they always know we're coming?'_

The dragons were attacking from all directions, mostly Nadders with a few smaller annoyances. With an almost casual strength, he swung his hammer and split a blue one's skull. He barely had time to jump out of the way of the jet of boiling water that shot past him. "SCALDRONS!" Suddenly, another jet shot from the impenetrable mist…

Right into the Red Nadder that had been sneaking up on him. It shrieked and leapt from the boat. _'That's strange.'_ Stoick pondered the attack for a moment before putting it down to luck and leaping back into the fight. One of the Sea-dragons had boarded a ship.

"To me, to me!" The warriors raised a yell and fell on the beast. Stoick narrowed his eyes and leapt to join them. "FOR BERK!"

**Ap qA**

Hiccup had woken up that morning to an empty house. It wasn't any different than the day before in that respect, but he'd always imagined his father watching proudly from the sidelines on his first day of combat training._ 'Probably better like this; he won't be there to see me get knocked on my ass.'_

Now that the day was directly before him, the previous one's excitement had been replaced by nervousness, which he, as usual, tried to cover for with sarcastic pessimism.

He slipped his feet out of bed and began his morning as usual: attending to his bodily functions, putting his pants and belt on, slipping his knife through that belt, grabbing his coat ("warm" on Berk basically meant not snowing) and finally, walking out the door to the Great Hall so he could get breakfast.

It took a cursory glance to find Bellur, sitting alone at a small table near the door. He'd already gotten his food, so Hiccup went to grab some for himself.

The cooks had made a filling stew that morning. Hiccup's appetite hadn't suffered from the night's lack of rest; he inhaled three bowls before his friend reminded him to take a breath.

"Well, your appetite's healthy today." Hiccup looked up and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Yeah, didn't eat much last night. You know how Berolt's seaweed soup is." Bellur chuckled and ate another spoonful of stew.

"So, got any pointers?" Bellur chewed thoughtfully before nodding. "Yeah, don't try to draw attention to yourself. I guarantee you that some kid will take that as a challenge and go after you; you don't need three assholes going for you at once. Also, if you've got a choice between a sword and a shield, go for the shield."

Hiccup frowned. "How does that make sense? You can't fight anything without a weapon." Bellur turned one of his best condescending looks on his younger friend and swallowed again.

"Maybe, but if I were in a fight and I had to choose between a possible win and staying alive, I'd choose to stay alive." Hiccup's brow furrowed; he saw the common sense in the statement, but for some reason it still sounded cowardly. Suddenly, Bellur's face fell. "Shit, he's here."

"Hey, losers!" Hiccup's forehead promptly and loudly met his hand. Snotlout had arrived.

Snotlout's real name was Norman, but nobody actually called him that. He and Hiccup had a longstanding dislike for each other. Not many people knew or cared why.

"So Hiccup, are you ready to get mashed into a bloody pulp. 'Cause we all know that's what's gonna happen." The sarcastic boy leveled a resigned look on the bigger one; he almost looked bored.

"Actually, we were just talking about you. Fucked any sheep lately?" Snotlout snarled in a futile attempt to hide a blush. Bellur snorted. "_Ha!_ Fucking sheep! I almost forgot about that one." The larger boy moved to grab Hiccup by his shirt-strings, but the thin boy was quicker and scooted out of the way.

"So, where are your cronies? I figured you'd want a crowd there when you beat the scrawniest kid in the village for the millionth time." Snotlout glared, his frown deepening. "They all had chores. I don't need them, though. With the competition I have, that Nightmare is practically mine." And with that, he walked off.

Hiccup glared at his back as he walked. "I don't care if I _do_ have to get beat up, I'm going to wipe that dumbass grin off his face." Bellur raised an eyebrow. He'd heard similar vows before and not once had Hiccup managed to follow through. At this point, it barely registered.

The two misfits talked sparsely as they finished their meals. Snotlout's pronouncement had put them both in a bad mood.

**Ap qA**

Hiccup had always been somewhat in awe of the Arena. Obviously, it was an imposing sight, but it also symbolized everything he'd ever wanted to be; a great warrior, the kind his father could be proud of.

The Arena was basically a giant pit lined with stone bricks. It was ringed with stone stairs and covered by a dome of metal bars; it would have been ornamented, but dragons tended to destroy those kinds of things.

As it turned out, Hiccup had taken a bit too long eating breakfast; he was almost late. By the time he ran under the raised gate, Gobber's voice was already echoing across the cliff.

"Oh, good morning Hiccup! Good of yeh to show up!" Hiccup moved into the crowd and did his best to look small.

"Now that everyone's here, we can get started! As of now, yer all trainees!" He turned his hard gaze on a particularly skinny kid. "Some of yeh won't make it through this. Some of yeh will. It's my job to figure out which is which.

He started pacing in front of the group and Hiccup was suddenly struck by just how few kids there were, barely 12 in all.

"Tomorrow, yeh'll be separated into four-man teams! For today, I'm going to be decidin' who belongs in whose group." Gobber stood back. "Form ranks, three deep, four across!"

The teenagers grumbled, but started to move. Gobber clearly wasn't impressed. "C'mon, we aven't got all day!" The grumbling ceased. Gobber nodded to himself.

"Now, as of today, you all owe me 50 pushups and sit-ups each! If you can't do that, you go without dinner!" Gobber turned a pointed look on Hiccup. "No exceptions!"

Gobber stood expectantly for a second while the trainees stood dumbly. "NOW!" Unfortunately, Gobber's attempt at intimidation worked a bit too well; Fishlegs literally fell on his face in his haste to start and took the two kids in front of him down with him. Gobber just sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. _'This is gonna be a long, long day.'_

**Ap qA**

_'I can't feel anything. Oh gods, I can't feel anything.' _Hiccup gasped for air as he continued to deal with the deadness in his muscles. After they'd gotten through their pushups and sit-ups, Gobber had told them to start running around the Arena. When Astrid had asked how many times, he'd replied "As many as I feel like."

Hiccup had lost track of the number of laps he'd run at this point; his brain wasn't conscious enough to handle it. Every time one of the trainees started to slow down, Gobber would yell for them to pick up the pace or get out. Poor Fishlegs had gone down five minutes in; they'd had to drag him out on a litter. Hiccup felt like he was about to follow the large boy; his vision was fuzzy, a sudden bursting pain in his stomach elicited a hissing gasp from his rebellious lungs. _'Shit. Shit. Shit.' _"Would you stop that?!"

Hiccup turned a bewildered gaze on Astrid. Somewhere at the back of his mind, he registered how good she looked, but the thought was fleeting and hazardous to his health, so he disregarded it.

'Stop *gasp* what?" she narrowed her glare even further. "Stop muttering. It's annoying." He momentarily wondered what she meant before realizing that he was running at the same speed as her. He'd never been as fast as Astrid, so why was he now?

He didn't have time to ponder it; it seemed that he had reached the end of his energy reserves. Without a word, he passed out.

**Ap qA**

"Uuuuugggggghhhhhhh." Hiccup felt like every inch of his body had been pounded by a war-hammer then dowsed in oil and set on fire. No, it was more like being frozen. Yeah, frozen.

"This is the second time you've been in this place in the last week. If you're going for the blackout record, you should know you've got three more to go in the next two days."

Hiccup turned a glare on Bellur and sat up tentatively. For a second, the world was spinning, but he grabbed the edge of the bed and waited for the dizziness to pass. "How long was I out?"

Bellur raised an eyebrow. "Not long, maybe a few hours. You should be fine, if you get a good night's sleep; maybe a bit stiff tomorrow, but you'll be okay." Hiccup nodded and slipped cautiously out of bed, testing his legs. "I'm… I'm okay. Besides, I've got something I need to show you." Bellur's eyebrows rose still higher. "You sure? First day's a real bitch, you might want to sleep it off." Hiccup shook his head. "No, this is important. I need your help… to repay a debt."

Bellur's eyes narrowed a bit. "What kind of debt? You know I don't have much money." Hiccup pulled his coat on. "No, nothing like that. I need your expertise." Bellur's expression cleared; Hiccup could see him putting his "professional" face on. "Alright. What am I healing?"

Hiccup looked down at the floor, scratching the back of his had nervously. "It's… actually, it'll be easier if I just show you." Bellur nodded and grabbed a bag of basic supplies before following his friend out the door. "Whoever this guy is, he'd better have some food, cause at this rate, we're gonna miss dinner." Hiccup chuckled. "Actually, we're bringing dinner to him.

Bellur groaned. "Great. Well, lead on." Hiccup nodded and took off for the storehouses.

**And finally, we get to combat training! Took you long enough, brain! God, this chapter gave me so much trouble. It took way too long to get my ideas straight.**

**Leave a review; I have a feeling this one isn't quite up to par, but I don't know why, so help is appreciated. **

**Thanks for reading,**

**Scavenger**


	6. Bonds

**The last few episodes of Riders of Berk got me excited to write again. I had to push through some setback and schoolwork, but here it finally is. Have fun.**

**Chapter 6**

**Bonds**

"How much longer do we have to walk?" Hiccup turned an annoyed glare on his friend. "We'll be there soon, quit whining!" Bellur pulled the basket's strap farther up on his shoulder and grumbled, but kept walking.

"So anyway, you still haven't told me who this friend of yours is." Hiccup's expression was contemplative, as though he were struggling with his answer. "He's less of a friend and more of a… pet." Bellur raised an eyebrow. "Pet what; rabbit, penguin? If we're going to feed a bear-" Hiccup shook his head. "No, he's… Actually, it'll be easier if I just show you; we're here."

Hiccup pointed out a broken tree, smashed recently by the looks of it. Bellur gulped. "Seriously, what is this thing?" Hiccup ran up to the lip of a drop-off and looked down. "He's here on the rocks." Bellur sighed, putting down the fish and trudging to the edge along with his friend.

"Alright, now, don't panic; you might scare him. Look straight down." Bellur leaned over and searched for a second before his eyes fixed on a very big, very draconic form curled up on some rocks at the base of the cliff. He stumbled back from the edge, wide-eyed.

"What? When? How?" Hiccup developed a sudden interest in the leaf litter. "I told you not to panic." Bellur stood still for a second before grabbing Hiccup by the shoulders and shaking him violently. "Have you lost your damn mind!? That is a fucking dragon! How did you even find it!?" Hiccup jumped back, startled, but not incredibly surprised by his friend's reaction. "I shot him down the night that Nightmare attacked me. It took me hours to find him! I was going to kill him, but…" Bellur's glare was uncharacteristically hard. "But what?" Hiccup scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "He's… I don't know, different somehow… and I sort of owe him."

Bellur tilted his head. _'What in the darkest pits of Hel could Hiccup owe a dragon for?_' "Go on." Hiccup shuffled uncomfortably. "The night after I woke up, I snuck out and found him. I cut my hand on this broken bit in his tail; I think our blood mixed or something. I passed out and when I woke back up… well, you know what had happened." Bellur sighed in annoyance and sat down on a felled log. Hiccup persisted. "Look, I can't heal him myself, but I was hoping you could."

Bellur couldn't decide whether he was angry, scared or interested. Hiccup's statements were completely contrary to the last 300 years of fighting; Bellur had grown up in a culture that practically _revolved_ around killing dragons like the one in the clearing below.

But Hiccup had too and he was still asking for Bellur's help. Even more, Hiccup had never been a good liar; he could never fake the conviction that Bellur felt from him now.

"Alright, but if he kills me I swear to all the gods in Asgard, I will come back to life and beat you to a bloody pulp." Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "Fair enough. Grab the fish, you'll need them." Bellur did as he was instructed and followed Hiccup down an earthen slant to a hole in the rock.

Bellur managed to squeeze through the entrance with minimal difficulty. Hiccup fussed nervously with his hands as he explained to Bellur how to approach the dragon.

"Now, you want to start by giving him the fish. Get kind of close, but not too close, then tip the basket onto the ground and step back. If he reacts to you the same way as me, he should let you touch him after he eats them." Bellur nodded, not in the least bit comforted by his friend's sudden jittery mood. "So… that's it?" Hiccup smiled awkwardly. "I've only come here twice, I don't really have much to go on."

They both approached the dragon cautiously. "Hey, buddy! You remember me?" The Night Fury raised its head at Hiccup's voice and eyed him for a second before turning a curious gaze on the other human in its domain. "This is Bellur. Say hi, Bellur." Hiccup gave the taller boy a light push forward; he stumbled a bit, eliciting a growl from the Night Fury.

"Hey, big guy. I've got some dinner for ya." Bellur eyed the dragon as he inched forward. It wasn't any species he knew of, completely black with just the slightest hint of purpleish-blue. It was far sleeker than the others, probably designed for speed. Quickly, he tipped the basket over and took several quick steps back.

The dragon slid forward and sniffed the offering before turning questioning eyes on Hiccup. The boy looked surprised, but nodded. The thing dug in with ridiculous ferocity, snapping up the entire basket's worth in about a minute.

Having quickly finished the fish, the Night Fury licked its lips, stretched and started walking toward Bellur.

'_Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit-'_ Bellur might have ran at that moment, but something at the back of his mind told him that would send the wrong message. The thing got right up in his face and stared him in the eyes. He was petrified with fear, mesmerized by the large, green eyes staring into his…

So mesmerized in fact, that a sudden lick on the face was all it took to send him falling on his ass. After a moment, Hiccup burst out laughing, accompanied by the dragon making a noise that sounded distinctly mocking. Bellur was stunned into momentary silence before the ridiculousness of the situation got to him.

The tension broke almost audibly as hoots and chuckles filled the clearing. The mood was significantly lighter when Hiccup walked back over to his friend, still having little spasms of laughter. Still grinning, he reached down a helping hand, which Bellur accepted gratefully.

Bellur wiped the slobber off of his face and turned a warm smile on the creature. It was sitting on its hind legs, eyes wide and curious. "I don't think I've seen this kind of dragon before. What is he?" Hiccup smiled. "He's a Night Fury." Bellur's expression brightened. "Are you sure? No one's ever seen one up close, how did you manage to bring him down?" Hiccup shrugged. 'Lucky shot, I guess. I had to let him fly into my sights."

Bellur tilted his head slightly, as though a problem had just occurred to him. "So… why doesn't he have teeth? I could have sworn I saw some earlier." Hiccup turned to regard the now-sitting creature. "I'm pretty sure they're retractable." Bellur shook his head at the irony. _'A toothless dragon is the only friendly one. Odin must have a weird sense of humor.'_

"I should take a look at that tail." Hiccup nodded. "Remember to take it slow; we still don't know how he'll react." Bellur nodded and took a tentative step forward. "Okay, buddy, I'm just gonna examine that fin." The Night Fury eyed him appraisingly, still unsure of his intentions.

His pace stayed slow as he circled around to the creature's back, eyeing the damaged organ a he went. _'Gods, he really did a number on you, didn't he?' _Bellur knew a good amount about dragon anatomy; it had been the one place he'd stood out in combat training. He kneeled down and tentatively touched one of the spines. The dragon shivered and turned to observe the young medic.

With a patient in front of him, Bellur's vision tunneled. _'The membrane's mostly gone along with the majority of the spines; those will probably have to be removed. Other than that, I'm gonna need to clean the bits that aren't closed up already.'_

"You know, considering how much damage happened on impact, it's amazing how well he's healing. The wound's not even infected from what I can see." Hiccup's expression brightened. "That's great! Can you fix him?"

Bellur shrugged. 'That depends on your definition of fixing. I doubt he's going to spontaneously grow his fin back; the bones are broken off in several places and most of the membrane is gone. I don't think he'll ever fly on his own again." Hiccup's face fell. Bellur got up and put a comforting hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "Hey, it's amazing that he's alive in the first place. The fact that you're trying to help him in the first place is more than he could expect from most people." Hiccup nodded resignedly, but didn't look particularly comforted by the kind words.

The dragon walked over and nudged Hiccup on the leg, making a strangely calming humming noise. Both boys smiled.

"You know, if you're goning to keep him around, you'll have to think of a name for him." Hiccup looked at the Bellur and felt an immense sense of kinship with the tall medic. "Yeah… Thank you, for everything you're doing. Comin here helping a dragon you'd never met before; I don't think I could ask for a better friend. Bellur scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly. "Hey, you're my best friend, I wasn't exactly going to turn you in or something." Hiccup extended a hand and smirked. Bellur took a second before clasping hiccup's forearm and shaking. With that, they said their goodbyes to the dragon and heading back home.

**Ap qA**

Hiccup groaned and turned over in his bed, trying his best to block the bright morning sun from his eyes. Bellur hadn't been wrong when he had said they'd be late for dinner. The Great Hall had been practically empty by the time they'd gotten back and all the stew had turned into cold sludge. Hiccup had decided to pass on it.

Now, as the sun's rays continued to pierce his eyelids, he decided that his stomach needed to be fed more than the rest of him needed sleep. Resignedly, he started to slip his feet out from under his blanket only to slip on one of his shoes and fall out of bed onto his ass. _'Starting the day with failure. Great.'_ After picking himself up, Hiccup went through his usual routine and headed to the Great Hall.

Bread and cheese were breakfast that morning. Bellur wasn't there; he'd told Hiccup the previous day that Madile had given him the day off and he would therefore be cramming in as much sleep as possible that morning.

Hiccup took a bite of his bread and cheese, looking around the Hall. Astrid was eating calmly with a group of friends. Snotlout was loudly recounting a story, probably riddled with exaggerations. Fishlegs was sitting across the room by himself. Hiccup frowned; the scene didn't sit well with him. After a second, he picked up his plate and walked over.

"Hey, Fishlegs!" The large boy looked up dejectedly. "Hi Hiccup." Hiccup frowned at the tone of his voice, but recovered quickly. "So, do you mind if I sit here?" Fishlegs seemed startled by the question. "Oh. Yeah, I guess. Do whatever you want." Hiccup nodded and sat down, trying his best to seem happy.

"So, we're getting assigned to our groups today. You excited?" Fishlegs' expression went from down to depressed. _'Right, stupid question.'_

"Uh… Good bread this morning!" Fishlegs grunted an affirmative, but otherwise didn't respond to the over-enthusiastic statement. Hiccup, seeing the hard task before him, desperately racked his mind for another topic. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, Snotlout quickly negated that need.

"You know, I thought you two couldn't get any more pathetic, but now that you're both together, I can see I was wrong." Hiccup turned a burning glare on his enemy. "Don't you have something better to do than annoy us, Snotlout?"The older boy snorted derisively. "Hmph, no." Hiccup raised an eyebrow, expecting Snotlout to understand how he'd just insulted himself, but after a few seconds, realized the unintentional joke had passed completely over the larger boy's head.

"Riiight. I'm just hoping we aren't in the same group; I'd hate to be in the way when Astrid beats the living shit out of you." Fishlegs snorted, trying to hide a laugh and failing. Snotlout rounded on him angrily. "What was that, fat boy?"

Fishlegs' eyes went wide with fear as Snotlout stalked toward him. The heavy boy could have run, but he seemed to have forgotten how, holding his hands out in a vain attempt to stop Snotlout's advance. Hiccup watched the spectacle with bubbling anger. As a satisfied smirk broke through the anger on the larger boy's face and he drew back a fist, something inside Hiccup snapped. He stood up, knocking over the bench he'd been sitting on and moved to stop the blow, but there was no need; Snotlout's arm was suddenly and firmly restrained by a metal hook, connected to a scowling Gobber.

"That's enough, the lot of yeh. Save it for the Arena." Snotlout glared, but didn't resist, pulling his hand free and stalking away. Hiccup sighed in relief. _'What was that? I completely lost my temper.'_ He and Fishlegs finished their food in tense and hurried silence.

**Other than Bellur being introduced to Toothless, this was mostly a transition chapter; i'm going to get into the team assignments and the beginnings of the prosthetic fin next chapter. Review and tell me what you think. Suggestions are always welcome.**

**Scavenger**


	7. Shadows

**This is short. It _is_ sort of important plotwise, but all the same, I'm sorry. I just haven't had the inspiration to write lately and I figure the one thing worse than slow updates are bad ones. Quality over quantity is usually my policy for writing. Also, I've been reading stuff, specifically The Leaf's Naruto. You should go do that. It's in my favorites.**

** I feel like I've been dawdling a bit story-wise, maybe not moving it along quickly enough. I don't want to rush, or anything, but considering how much my updates have slowed down, I feel like I should be putting more into what I put out. Tell me what you think; pros and cons of the helpful sort are always welcome! Have fun.**

**EDIT: IT's NOT AS SHORT NOW! YAY! I decided to add tis on to the end of this chapter, mostly because it didn't feel right at the beginning of chapter 8 (which is being worked on, don't worry). Enjoy.**

**Chapter 7**

**Shadows**

The Master looked out over his domain. Beautiful fields and swaying forests under a bright sun greeted his eyes as though masterfully painted for his own enjoyment. The breeze was soft, but refreshing, and it carried the scent of lavender. He could feel the life he had brought to this place and on any other day, it would have made him smile. On any other morning, his mood would be carefree, secure in the knowledge that there was nobody to threaten his domain.

But this morning was different and when Haral ran through the door looking terrified, it was no secret why. "You felt it too, child." It wasn't a question.

"How would I _not _feel that? It was terrifying." The Master turned a burning stare upon his ward and for a second, Haral was petrified. But the master was not truly angry; the disrespectful tone had not been intentional. The boy was simply not in control of himself.

"You are right to be afraid. That was no simple disturbance. I have not felt so powerful a spark as this since my own joining." Haral's eyes widened. "Do you plan to sever the bond?" The Master noticed the humbled tone in his ward's voice. _'Good.' _

"No. I will study the problem first. So powerful an enemy could also become a very useful ally. These situations must be handled delicately." He turned to regard the boy. "Your talents are ideal for such a task. I will entrust this matter to you."

Haral was visibly surprised, but quickly bowed, muttering thanks and groveling just the smallest bit. Without another word, he turned and walked back through the tower's wooden door. The Master smiled. _'He is getting better.' _All that morning the door had not been opened once.

**Ap qA**

Hiccup had decided over the course of that day's training session that Astrid must really truly hate him. She'd been muttering non-stop since he, Fishlegs and her had been assigned to the same team. _'No one, not even the most irritable person alive, has that much to gripe about.'_ When he'd asked Gobber what in the darkest pits of Hel he was thinking putting them on the same team, Gobber had chuckled, said something about believing in "on the job training" then walked off, clearly very pleased with himself. Hiccup hadn't known whether to be annoyed or confused.

The clearing the giant amputee had led them to was big enough to fit all four of them with a decent amount of room to spare. The forest floor was littered with leaves and pine needles and almost devoid of rocks. It was ringed with Log benches and relatively well shaded by the surrounding trees. Sighing contentedly, Gobber walked to the clearing's center and inhaled the crisp, mid-fall air. "Aaah, it's good to be back." Gobber sat there looking more content than Hiccup had ever seen him. After a moment, Gobber nodded and turned to address his new pupils.

"Well, I'm not gonna sugar-coat it: this is one of the worst groups ah've seen in all my time as an instructor. Astrid is okay, but you two," he turned sharply on Fishlegs and Hiccup. "You two are terrible." Fishlegs managed, somehow, to look even more dejected. Hiccup turned a glare on the large blacksmith. _'What is he playing at?'_

"Now, that being said, I do think you all have potential. Yeh just haven't brought it to the surface yet." Hiccup raised a disbelieving eyebrow; Gobber had spent the last few years as well as the beginning of this speech telling him he had no place in a fight only to change his tune at this moment. He was reminded suddenly of Gobber's earlier comment about learning from experience. Alarms started going off in his mind.

"Now, some other teachers might waste weeks puttin' yeh through yer paces and building up muscle in order to force you into a mold yeh don't naturally fit. I am not those teachers. I believe in learning through experience!" He rounded once again on Hiccup. "So, Hiccup, you and Astrid are gonna fight until one of yeh yields or is unconscious. Go!"

Hiccup's eyes widened at the sudden pronouncement. He had barely a second to stand before Astrid was barreling into him, fists first. The breath was knocked from his lungs as he landed on the dirt ground. Astrid wasted no time, getting on top of Hiccup and holding him down. For a second, it looked like the fight was going to be very, very short.

But as Astrid drew back a fist to punch Hiccup into unconsciousness, something inside of him decided to take matters into its own hands. He felt it like liquid icy fire in his mind: instinctive and single-minded. With a feral growl, he caught grabbed the prepared fist and the opposite arm's shoulder armor. Giving a mighty heave, he threw her off to the side and pinned her down instead, effectively turning the tables on his blonde teammate. With a feral growl, he pulled back a fist, not noticing Astrid's shocked expression or the sound of heavy footsteps behind him. It was only when a metal hook restrained him that he realized Gobber had come up behind him.

"Alright, tha's enough." For a moment Hiccup felt the strange urge to punch Gobber in the face, but with the sudden distraction from his opponent, his mind regained itself. He nodded shakily to his teacher and stood up only to feel suddenly woozy. With a muttered apology, he ran to the nearest bush and threw up.

Ap qA

Gobber's mood had taken an abrupt downward turn after that first spar. He had set Astrid to fight Fishlegs and she had trounced the boy rather easily, but Gobber assured him that all he needed was some work on his technique and his natural size would be enough to win him some fights. They had spent the rest of their time doing just what Gobber had said they wouldn't be doing: physical conditioning. They did sit-ups, squats and several variations on the push-up, most of which none of them had even heard of before. Not one of them came out of it without some sort of muscle-ache and the walk back to the village seamed much longer and more arduous than the stroll they'd taken out to the clearing that morning.

Hiccup had spent most of that time at least peripherally wondering just what the Hel had happened during his fight. For one thing, he had no idea how he of all people could have over-powered Astrid. Even worse, the whole episode was blurry in his mind, as though he couldn't keep up with the memories. It was strange and he didn't like it. Not for the first time, he wondered just what had happened the night his wounds had healed.

And that of course brought him back to the dragon. He still didn't know how to feel about that whole mess. In Hiccup's mind, the whole situation has been resolved with the thing flying off into the sunset, but if Bellur was right, that wasn't a possible outcome anymore. The Night Fury would never again fly on its own and he couldn't just let it go free as it was. Hiccup knew as well as any Viking that a downed dragon was a dead dragon. There had to be some way to help it; he couldn't just keep it in the cove forever.

He remembered suddenly the last trading fleet to pass through town. Their sails had been strangely shaped, almost like a fin; specifically the fins on the Night Fury's tail… And suddenly, Hiccup knew what he had to do.

**Ap qA**

Bellur was noticeably less nervous around the Night Fury his second time, relaxed even. His movements were slow and deliberate as he applied salves to the creature's wounds, murmuring as he went. Hiccup wondered idly why his bedside manner only seemed to extend to animals, but mostly, he focused on studying the structure of the tail fin. He needed to get all the details right for this to work.

_'The middle three fins get slightly longer as they go up the tail.' _He moved to make alterations to his sketch, eyes narrowed in concentration.

Meanwhile, Bellur had finished with his treatments. His patient gave him a small lick and trotted over to Hiccup. Soundlessly, he nudged the boy's shoulder and looked inquisitively at the sketch. Its eyes narrowed and it turned to regard its tail fin before looking back at the drawing. It thought for a second, before casting around, looking for something. A few seconds later, it rushed over to a large branch and started dragging it through the sediment, seemingly without structure. When he was finished, he picked his way back through the lines and looked expectantly at his visitors.

Bellur looked quizzically at the design, clearly not understanding what it was supposed to be. Hiccup was in a similar position, but something at the back of his mind told him he was missing a blatantly obvious detail. Without a thought, he started walking around the design, looking for some sort of pattern. About half way around, he saw it, and in that moment, Hiccup realized this dragon could not be an animal. The design was impossible to see from any other direction, mostly because of the messy lines, but from this specific vantage point, it was clearly discernable. "Bellur, you need to see this." The tall boy raised an eyebrow and started walking around the drawing, wondering just what his friend had seen that could shock him this much. Then he saw it too and stopped dead in his tracks.

The Dragon had drawn Hiccup. It walked over to the two friends and turned a questioning look on him as though to ask what he thought of the work. For the second time in as many minutes, Hiccup acted without really knowing why, reaching out and touching the dragon on his nose. He felt a sudden tug, as though his mind were being pulled out of him and his body went rigid. His eyes widened as his mind was flooded with images and hen he and the dragon collapsed, for all intents and purposes, dead to the world.

**Ap qA**

Bellur was worried. When Hiccup and the dragon had passed out, he had tried to carry his friend back to the village. He quickly realized that even though Hiccup looked ridiculously skinny, he wouldn't be able to carry the kid back home. With that in mind, he'd been forced to wait around and guard the two for all his presence was worth. After the first hour of waiting, he'd decided to settle I for the long haul. It was starting to get dark by the time they both came to.

Hiccup's eyes fluttered open accompanied by a loud groan. He cradled his head as he sat up, muttering obscenities and trying to massage a headache away. He turned apologetically to his older friend and grinned nervously. "So… How long was I out this time?" Bellur's eyes remained narrowed. "About two hours. Now what the fuck happened?" Hiccup seemed taken aback by his friend's serious mood. "Well… I'm not really sure. Even he didn't know." He looked strangely at the dragon, clearly confused, but also strangely understanding.

"All I really know is that he just explained a lot of stuff to me and it's taking a while to get straight in my head." Bellur raised an eyebrow. "Explained?" Hiccup's face scrunched up in concentration, trying to order his thoughts. "It wasn't so much an explanation as… a transfer? It was like he just poured his memories into my brain. I think I did the same to him. It's… hard to explain."

Bellur walked over to his friend and helped him up. "So what exactly did his memories explain?" He was trying desperately to take all of this in stride and barely succeeding. Hel, he was still having trouble thinking of the dragon in front of him as a person, with a life and memories, maybe a family that was missing him. The whole thing was crazy.

Hiccup's eyes narrowed. "The details are still sort of fuzzy, but I can tell one thing very, very clearly: the dragons aren't attacking us because they need to. They're doing it because they have to."


End file.
